Suchergebnisse

PurposeDrawing from institutional theory and organizational learning perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to examine how social norms of corruption in home countries and those in host localities influence firm bribery behavior. It also investigates factors that moderate the influence of these norms.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on survey data of foreign invested firms (FIFs) in Vietnam, conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry between 2010 and 2018 along with Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. The authors run ordinary least squares regressions to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe study provides evidence that social norms of corruption in both home countries and host localities influence firms' bribery behavior, but their effects are moderated by different sets of factors. Specifically, the use of local leadership augments the impact of the host province's corruption norms on the firm's bribe payments. By contrast, the relationship between the home country's corruption norms and a FIF's bribe payment is weaker if local leadership is used, and stronger if the FIF's home country belongs to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.Research limitations/implicationsRepeated cross-sectional data do not allow us to genuinely keep track of the changing roles of home country and host province corruption norms over time. In addition, the use of perception measures for corruption norms is subject to potential biases.Practical implicationsAs the hiring of local executives weakens the impact of the home country's norms which are embedded in the MNCs' general practices, a stronger learning measure and regular review of the headquarters' policies and practices is needed to ensure the overseas branch's compliance. For policymakers, it is critical to recognize that local corruption plays a role in shaping FIFs' bribery behavior.Originality/valueWhile the effect of social norms of corruption on firm bribery behavior has been recognized, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that examines the learning processes FIFs may take to make sense of and cope with these norms, and also the first one to specify factors that moderate the influence of these norms.

Previous studies have been silent on how institutional factors influence scientists' entrepreneurial cognitions and behavior. Transition economies offer a unique opportunity for addressing this issue since different generations of scientists experienced vastly different ideology and management systems. Built on the entrepreneurial cognitions and contextualization views and interview data from scientists in Vietnam, this study found that scientists internalized institutional factors to form their motivations, partnership approaches, and behavioral competencies, which in turn influence their chosen modes of entrepreneurship. This suggests that new institutions which address younger generations and focus on developing entrepreneurial qualities are pertinent to promote commercialization in transition economies.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether competitor concentration relates to better customer acceptance of the firm's offerings and better networking of the firm with competitors and government officials.Design/methodology/approachThe research is conducted in the context of the transition economy of Vietnam, using a combination of methods. Qualitative interviews are followed by a survey of 199 small firms in Hanoi, Vietnam. Since competitor concentration is count data, Poisson regression is used to test the relationship between networking, customer acceptance, and competitor concentration.FindingsThe results show that locating in a competitor concentration area improves customer acceptance of the firm's offerings and increases networking with competitors, while decreasing networking with government officials. Competitor concentration does not help improve firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsA sample of 199 businesses in the food, furniture, and jewelry sectors in Hanoi may not be representative of all private businesses in Vietnam. The use of cross-sectional data could not establish causational relationships among variables.Practical implicationsSmall firms in transition economies should be aware of the trade-offs between initial customer acceptance and negative consequences of being in a competitor concentrated area. Thus, once the firm's offerings are generally accepted by customers, the firm may consider moving out of competitor concentration areas to expand and differentiate.Originality/valueThis paper points out that in the absence of effective market institutions, businesses want to be located near a concentration of similar firms as a means of gaining initial customer acceptance. This initial acceptance does not necessarily help firms improve business performance beyond the firm's survival.

AbstractThis study examines the impact of migration on local workers and high school dropouts of local students. A conventional approach without addressing the endogeneity issue may lead to biased results. Our endogeneity‐corrected estimates show a positive impact of migration on the monthly wages of local workers. A higher share of migrants increases the probability of local workers with employment contracts, social insurance, and holiday pay. Heterogeneity analysis shows that local workers, no matter their educational level, work experience, or occupation sectors, benefit from the inflow of migrants. Finally, migration inflow lowers the probability of high school dropouts among local students. Our findings resulting from rigorous statistical approaches suggest that internal migration produces positive impacts on the economic well‐being of local residents, refuting the argument about the adverse effects associated with internal migration.

Payments for environmental services (PES) are usually considered as a useful tool to both protect the environment and generate multiple income streams for mountainous households who receive the payments, and thus, it has been widely implementing in many developing countries so far; however, the impact of it on local livelihoods and environment has been questioned. Therefore, the article aimed to evaluate the Vietnamese PES scheme's effect on both environment and local livelihoods by surveying 282 households living in Quang Nam, Vietnam, and utilized the propensity score matching (PSM) technique to investigate the intervention policy's influence. Furthermore, to evaluate PES's effect on the environment, the article used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a measure of the photosynthetic level of forest trees. The calculation of NDVI relied on satellite images downloaded from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The results indicated that (a) the natural forest status has been improved during PES implementation compared with that of pre-PES period regarding total forest areas, percentage of forest coverage, and vegetation cover; and (b) PES-participants have got a significantly lower income than nonparticipants regarding total annual income, agricultural income, and hired labor income. The limitation is that the impact of interventions on livelihoods and the environment is determined by the mutual combination of implemented programs rather than only the PES regime. So, we highly recommend that the future study separate the PES scheme's actual impact to precisely evaluate the PES project's effect on financial and environmental outcomes.

Juvenile recidivism presents a significant challenge to the criminal justice system in Vietnam. This study examines the perspectives of judicial officers regarding effective solutions to mitigate juvenile reoffending. Through a series of structured interviews and surveys, the research explores judicial officers' insights into the root causes of juvenile delinquency, including socio-economic factors, family influences, and the impact of educational systems. The findings emphasize the importance of rehabilitation over punishment, suggesting that psychological counseling, vocational training, and educational support are pivotal in preventing recidivism. Furthermore, judicial officers advocate for the integration of community-based programs, early intervention strategies, and legislative reforms to address gaps in the juvenile justice system. The study concludes by highlighting the necessity for a multi-disciplinary approach, combining legal, social, and psychological interventions, to effectively curb juvenile recidivism in Vietnam.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and estimate market risk for the ten major industries in Vietnam. The focus of the empirical analysis is on the energy sector, which has been designated as one of the four key industries, together with services, food, and telecommunications, targeted for economic development by the Vietnam Government through to 2020. The oil and gas industry is a separate energy-related major industry, and it is evaluated separately from energy. The data set is from 2009 to 2017, which is decomposed into two distinct sub-periods after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), namely the immediate post-GFC (2009–2011) period and the normal (2012–2017) period, in order to identify the behavior of market risk for Vietnam's major industries. For the stock market in Vietnam, the website used in this paper provided complete and detailed data for each stock, as classified by industry. Two widely used approaches to measure and analyze risk are used in the empirical analysis, namely Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR). The empirical findings indicate that Energy and Pharmaceuticals are the least risky industries, whereas oil and gas and securities have the greatest risk. In general, there is strong empirical evidence that the four key industries display relatively low risk. For public policy, the Vietnam Government's proactive emphasis on the targeted industries, including energy, to achieve sustainable economic growth and national economic development, seems to be working effectively. This paper presents striking empirical evidence that Vietnam's industries have substantially improved their economic performance over the full sample, moving from relatively higher levels of market risk in the immediate post-GFC period to a lower risk environment in a normal period several years after the end of the calamitous GFC.

SummaryThis paper addresses the question of how reform policies come into existence in transition economies, in which democratic market institutions are in nascent stages. Data from two case studies in Vietnam suggest that the evolution of reform policies in transition economies involves significant sense‐making processes, rather than problem solving, and that sense making alters stakeholders' foundations for learning and power influence in policymaking. In the end, stakeholders' acceptance of identity changes is needed for a reform policy to be realized. This study offers important research and policy implications, and such issues as identity redefinition in the policy process warrant further study.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether higher levels of transparency, accountability, and participation have a statistically significant association with corruption, and whether corruption is highly correlated with lower public service quality in the context of Vietnam's transition economy.


Design/methodology/approach
Using individual-level survey data from Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index, the research employs an ordered probit model to test whether greater transparency, accountability, and participation is associated with lower levels of corruption. Moreover, district-level data are used to test the relationship between corruption and quality of public services particularly in healthcare and primary education.


Findings
Results show that a higher level of transparency, participation, and accountability is associated with a lower level of corruption, and that corruption is negatively associated with public service quality.


Research limitations/implications
The use of cross-sectional data does not allow the establishment of causal relationships among variables.


Practical implications
The research suggests that fostering accountability to citizens and non-state sectors and promotion of genuine participation from these actors are critical for the future anti-corruption agenda.


Originality/value
In developing countries, whether corruption enhances efficiency of service provision is highly debatable. This research contributes to this debate by suggesting that corruption significantly decreases the quality of public service, and that improving local governance helps reduce corruption.